Apparatus and method for schedule based operation of a luminaire

ABSTRACT

An illumination system verifies controls the operation of a luminaire without the use of any photometric data. The illumination system uses data indicative of a current time, date or latitude to determine one or more aspects of a solar event. Such aspects can include a scheduled, predicted or expected time of occurrence of the scheduled solar event. Responsive to the determination of a scheduled, predicted or expected time of occurrence of the scheduled solar event, a control subsystem can adjust the luminous output of a light source.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of illuminationdevices and, more particularly, to control dusk-to-dawn illumination.

2. Description of the Related Art

Energy conservation has become of ever increasing importance. Efficientuse of energy can result in a variety of benefits, including financialbenefits such as cost savings and environmental benefits such aspreservation of natural resources and reduction in “green house” (e.g.,CO₂) gas emissions.

Residential, commercial, and street lighting which illuminate interiorand exterior spaces consume a significant amount of energy. Conventionallighting devices or luminaires exist in a broad range of designs,suitable for various uses. Lighting devices employ a variety ofconventional light sources, for example incandescent lamps, florescentlamps such as high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps (e.g., mercury vaporlamps, high-pressure sodium lamps, metal halide lamps).

There appear to be two primary approaches to reducing energy consumptionassociated with lighting systems. One approach employs higher efficiencylight sources. The other approach selectively provides light only whenneeded.

Use of higher efficiency light sources may, for instance, includereplacing incandescent lamps with florescent lamps or even withsolid-state light sources (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs), organicLEDs (OLEDs), polymer LEDs (PLEDs)) to increase energy efficiency. Insome instances, these higher efficiency light sources may present anumber of problems. For example, florescent light sources take arelatively long time after being turned ON to achieve their full ratedlevel of output light or illumination. Such light sources also typicallyhave a high energy consumption during warm-up. Many higher efficiencylight sources emit light with a low color rendering index (CRI). Forreference, sunlight has a CRI of 100 and represents “ideal light” whichcontains a continuous spectrum of visible radiation. Low CRI light isless pleasing to the human eye. Surfaces illuminate with low CRI lightmay not be perceived in their “true” color. Low CRI light makes it moredifficult to discern details, often requiring a higher level of outputlight or illumination to discern details that would otherwise bediscernable in high CRI light. Further, higher efficiency light sourcesmay require additional circuitry (e.g., ballasts) and/or thermalmanagement techniques (e.g., passive or active cooling).

Providing illumination only when needed can be achieved manually by auser of the lighting system, or automatically through the use of one ormore control mechanisms. Automatic control mechanisms generally fallinto two broad categories, timers and environmental sensors. Timer basedcontrol mechanisms turn light sources ON and OFF based on time. Thetimes are typically user configurable and result in the luminaireturning ON for a period of time and then OFF for the remainder of a 24hour period. Such timing circuits rely on the user to account forchanges in length of daylight which may occur throughout a year byadjusting the ON period of the luminaire commensurate with the change inday length. Very often, timer based control mechanisms are set once andnever updated.

Automatic control devices such as photosensitive transducers and motionor proximity sensors add to the cost of a light fixture and arefrequently mounted in exposed positions where environmental or physicaldamage is unavoidable or vandalism may occur. In addition, a failure ofthe automatic control mechanism, for example failure of a photosensorused to turn the light source ON or OFF dependent upon the measuredambient light level may result in the light source remaining in acontinuously ON state in the event the automatic control mechanism failsin a “closed” position permitting current flow to the light source or ina continuously OFF state in the event the automatic control mechanismfails in an “open” position interrupting current flow to the lightsource. Either failure mode results in an unacceptable mode of operationof the light source.

New approaches to improving the automated performance of lightingsystems in the absence of one or more photosensitive devices aretherefore needed.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Many conventional approaches employ a photosensitive transducer or lightsensor (e.g., photodiode) to detect levels of light in the ambientenvironment. Such approaches often take the form of dusk to dawncontrollers. In response to sensing ambient light levels consistent witha dusk condition, the controller turns on the associated light. Inresponse to sensing ambient light levels consistent with a dawncondition, the controller turns off the associated light. These dusk todawn controllers are prone to failure due to a variety of reasons, forexample failure of the light sensor. The light sensor must be positionedso as to be exposed to ambient light while not being so exposed to thelight emitted by the light source that the light sensor will sense adawn event in response to the turning on of the associated light. Suchplaces substantial limitations on the design and installation ofluminaires. Additionally, the light sensor(s) add significant cost andcomplexity. Applicants disclose various embodiments that advantageouslydo away with a light sensor, yet realize the benefits obtainable viacontrol of a light source in accordance with solar events (e.g.,occurrence of a dusk or dawn event).

Solar and other astronomical events such as sunrise, sunset, solar noon,and solar midnight can be predicted with a high degree of accuracy forany given date and location on the surface of the Earth. Higher latitudegeographic locations such as those proximate the Earth's poles willexperience a greater variation throughout the diurnal cycle than lowerlatitude geographic locations proximate the Earth's equatorial regions.This natural cyclical variation in solar event times further complicatesoperating a light source in an energy efficient manner, particularly inthe absence of some form of photosensitive transducer or similarphotodetection capability.

A lighting system controller having at least one output controlling theflow of power to a light source can be used to control one or moreoperational aspects of the associated lighting system. The lightingsystem controller can use at least one method or algorithm to accuratelydetermine solar event times for the geographic region in which thelighting system is located. In some instances, the lighting systemcontroller can accurately predict solar event times using temporal orgeolocation data that is manually or automatically obtained, accessed orcollected from one or more external devices such as a cellulartelephone, portable communication device, or satellite. In otherinstances, the lighting system controller can accurately predict solarevent times using calculated or stored data, for example a date and timegenerated using a timer or clock circuit and stored geolocation data tocalculate or look up solar event times.

A luminaire may be summarized as including at least one light source;and a control subsystem to control a supply of power to the at least onelight source, the control subsystem including: at least one timingcircuit to provide a timing signal; at least one nontransitory storagemedia to store information indicative of at least a local latitude inwhich the luminaire is to operate; a controller communicably coupled tothe at least one timing circuit and the at least one nontransitorystorage media, and that: determines at least one aspect of a scheduledsolar event at the local latitude; and generates at least one outputsignal having at least one characteristic indicative of the determinedat least one aspect of the scheduled solar event; and at least one powercontroller conductively coupled to the controller, the at least onepower controller selectively operable to control a supply of power tothe at least one light source responsive to the at least onecharacteristic of the at least one output signal.

The timing signal may include data indicative of at least one of: acurrent time and a current date. The information indicative of a locallatitude in which the luminaire is to operate may include a lookup tablethat includes data indicative of an expected time of occurrence of thescheduled solar event at the local latitude. The at least one aspect ofthe scheduled solar event may include the expected time of occurrence ofthe scheduled solar event as determined by the control subsystem via thelookup table using at least one of: the current time and the currentdate. The at least one aspect of the scheduled solar event may includean expected time of occurrence of the scheduled solar event determinedby the control subsystem via a calculation using at least one of: thecurrent date, the current time, and the information indicative of alocal latitude. The at least one aspect of the at least one outputsignal may be indicative of a change in an ambient light intensityassociated with the scheduled solar event. The at least one scheduledsolar event may include a sunset event and the at least one aspect ofthe at least one output signal may cause an increase in the luminousoutput of the light source. The at least one scheduled solar event mayinclude a sunrise event and the at least one aspect of the at least oneoutput signal may cause a decrease in the luminous output of the lightsource. The at least one output signal may include a pulse widthmodulated (PWM) signal; and the at least one characteristic of the atleast one output signal may include at least one of: a frequency of thePWM signal or a pulse width of the PWM signal; at least one of thefrequency of the PWM signal or the pulse width of the PWM signal variedto adjust the luminous output of the light source. The power controllermay include at least one solid state switch and the at least one lightsource may include a solid state light source. The at least one timingcircuit may include at least one of: real-time clock circuit and a timercircuit. The timing circuit may include a conductively coupledpersistent power source. The at least one aspect of the scheduled solarevent may include at least one of: a time of a sunset event; a time of asunrise event; a time of a dusk event; a time of a dawn event; a time ofa solar noon event; and a time of a solar midnight event.

A method of controlling the operation of at least one solid state lightsource may be summarized as including determining an occurrence of ascheduled solar event at a local latitude based on time without anyreference to photometric sensing; generating at least one output signalhaving at least one characteristic indicative of the occurrence of atleast one aspect of the scheduled solar event; and adjusting a luminousoutput of the at least one solid state light source responsive to the atleast one characteristic of the at least one output signal.

Determining an occurrence of a scheduled solar event at a local latitudemay include determining a time of occurrence of the scheduled solarevent by selecting data indicative of the time of occurrence of thescheduled solar event from at least one lookup table. Determining anoccurrence of a scheduled solar event at a local latitude may includecalculating a time of the occurrence of the scheduled solar event basedon at least one of: a current time and a current date. Generating the atleast one output signal may include varying at least one of: a voltage,a current, a frequency, and a pulse width of the at least one outputsignal to adjust the luminous output of the at least one solid statelight source.

A luminaire controller may be summarized as including a timing circuitincluding a persistent power source and at least one of a timer circuitand a real time clock, the timing circuit to provide a timing signalincluding data indicative of at least one of: a local date and a localtime; an output communicably coupled to at least one power controller,the output to provide at least one output signal having at least onecharacteristic to the at least one power controller, the at least onecharacteristic of the at least one output signal adjusted relative to atleast one aspect of at least one scheduled solar event; and at least onenon-transitory storage media storing information indicative of at leasta local latitude in which the luminaire is to operate, wherein themachine executable instructions cause the controller to: determine theat least one aspect of the scheduled solar event at the local latitude;and adjust the at least one characteristic of the at least one outputsignal relative to the determined at least one aspect of the scheduledsolar event.

The information indicative of at least a local latitude in which theluminaire is to operate may include at least one lookup table includingdata indicative of the at least one aspect of the scheduled solar eventat the local latitude; and the controller may determine the at least oneaspect of the scheduled solar event via the at least one lookup tablebased on at least one of: the current date and the current time. Thecontroller may determine the at least one aspect of the scheduled solarevent via one or more calculations based on at least one of: the currentdate, the current time, and the local latitude.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, identical reference numbers identify similar elementsor acts. The sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawingsare not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the shapes of variouselements and angles are not drawn to scale, and some of these elementsare arbitrarily enlarged and positioned to improve drawing legibility.Further, the particular shapes of the elements as drawn, are notintended to convey any information regarding the actual shape of theparticular elements, and have been solely selected for ease ofrecognition in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view showing a luminaire including a controlsubsystem and a light source, according to one non-limiting illustratedembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a luminaire equipped with a controlsubsystem and a light source.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing a high level method of operating anillumination system to provide illumination in the event of aphotosensor failure, according to one non-limiting illustratedembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing a low level method of determining atime of occurrence of a solar event using a lookup table, according toone non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram showing a low level method of determining atime of occurrence of a solar event using a calculation, according toone non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, certain specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of various disclosedembodiments. However, one skilled in the relevant art will recognizethat embodiments may be practiced without one or more of these specificdetails, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In otherinstances, well-known or well-documented solar or astronomicalrelationships such as the “sunrise equation” and well-known structuresassociated with luminaires, timing circuits, real time clock circuits,data look-up tables, and the like have not been shown or described indetail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the embodiments.

Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification andclaims which follow, the word “comprise” and variations thereof, such as“comprises” and “comprising,” are to be construed in an open, inclusivesense that is as “including, but not limited to.”

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or“in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, theparticular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined inany suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Additionally, the terms“lighting” and “illumination” are used herein interchangeably. Forinstance, the phrases “level of illumination” or “level of light output”have the same meanings. Also, for instance, the phrases “illuminationsource” and “light source” have the same meanings.

The headings and Abstract of the Disclosure provided herein are forconvenience only and do not interpret the scope or meaning of theembodiments.

FIG. 1 shows an illumination system 100 according to one non-limitingillustrated embodiment. The illumination system 100 includes a luminaire102, at least one illumination or light source 104, and a controlsubsystem 106.

The luminaire 102 may take any of a variety of forms. For example, theluminaire 102 may include a housing 108, one or more shades 110, andoptionally one or more brackets 112 that allow the luminaire 102 to besuspended or otherwise supported by an external structure. The shade 110may be transparent, translucent, or opaque. The luminaire 102 mayinclude one or more sockets or receptacles, for instance a threadedsocket or receptacle 114, sized to removably or interchangeably receivea base 115 of the light source 104. The luminaire 102 may include wiring(not called out) to supply power to the light source 104 from anexternal electrical power source such as an electrical power grid.Alternatively, the light source 104 may be integral to the luminaire102, particularly where the light source 104 includes a plurality ofsolid-state light emitters and hence has a relatively long expected lifecycle.

The control subsystem 106 may be integral to the luminaire 102. Thecontrol subsystem 106 also includes electrical circuitry or electronicsthat control or otherwise alter or adjust the power, luminosity orillumination state of the light source(s) 104, or control one or morefunctions of the luminaire 102. Such functions may include, but are notlimited to adjusting the illumination level of the light source(s) 104downward at a time after the light source is turned ON and adjusting theillumination level upward at a time preceding the light source beingturned OFF. Such provides lighting at relatively high levels whenillumination is typically most useful, while providing lighting atreduced levels when illumination is not typically useful, therebyreducing energy usage.

As described in more detail below, the control subsystem 106 mayadvantageously use one or more timers, timing circuits, or real timeclocks to look-up or calculate the expected time of occurrence of one ormore scheduled solar events and adjust the luminous output or intensityof the luminaire accordingly. Examples can include calculating orlooking up an expected time of occurrence for a sunset event. In someinstances such may include increasing the output of the luminaire from0% (no luminous output) to 100% (full luminous output) at the expectedtime of occurrence of the sunset. In other instances such may includesuch may include incrementally increasing the output of the luminairefrom 0% (no luminous output) to 100% (full luminous output) inincrements (e.g., 5%) starting a defined period (e.g., 10 minutes) priorthe expected time of occurrence of the sunset event and extending adefined period (e.g., 10 minutes) subsequent the expected time ofoccurrence of the sunset event.

The time of occurrence of various solar events (e.g., a sunrise event, asunset event, a solar noon event, a solar midnight event, a dusk event,a dawn event) can be determined using one or more lookup tablescontaining data indicative of the times of occurrence for various solarevents and stored in a nontransitory storage media that is accessible tothe luminaire. The time of occurrence of various solar events mayadditionally or alternatively be calculated using geolocation, time, ordate data either generated by or stored within the luminaire or obtainedfrom one or more external devices via one or more wired or wirelesscommunication interfaces.

Such geolocation, time, or date data may be used by the controlsubsystem 106 to adjust or otherwise confirm the accuracy of the one ormore timers or real time clocks. Advantageously, the one or more timeror real time clock circuits may be used to alter, adjust, or otherwisecontrol one or more operational aspects of the luminaire 102 usingeither calculated or looked-up data indicative of one or more scheduledsolar events. Such a schedule driven operation is particularlyattractive in instances where a photosensitive transducer or similarphotosensitive device is not installed, not available, or otherwise notincorporated into the control subsystem 106 or where such photosensitivedevices fail after installation. In at least some instances, theschedule driven operation may take into account the legislativechangeover from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time and vice versa.

The light source 104 may take a variety of forms. The light source mayinclude one or more distinct light bulbs, lights or light emitters 122a-122 n (only two called out in FIG. 1). For example, the light source104 may take the form of one or more incandescent light bulbs. Also forexample, the light source 104 may take the form of one or moreflorescent light bulbs such as HID light bulbs or lights or one or morearc lamps (collectively gas-discharge lamps). Advantageously, the lightsource 104 may take the form of one or more solid state light sources,for instance an array of light emitting diodes (LEDs), organic lightemitting diodes (OLEDs), or polymer light emitting diodes (PLEDs). Whileillustrated as a bulb, the light sources do not necessarily have to beenclosed in a bulb structure. For example, the light sources may takethe form of one-, two-, or even three-dimensional arrays of individualLEDs or strings of LEDs. Where appropriate, the light source 104 mayalso include one or more ballasts 124.

Other light source configurations may be used to equal effect. In oneexample a plurality of directional light sources 104 mounted on a commonbase and operated using a common control subsystem 106 may be used. Inanother example, a plurality of lamps may be communicably coupledtogether and the luminous output of each of the plurality of lightsources 104 controlled as a group using a single control subsystem 106.

The control subsystem includes electrical circuitry or electronics thatcontrol operation in a similar or identical manner as discussed above inreference to FIG. 1, and as discussed below with reference to FIGS. 3-5.

FIG. 2 illustrates a luminaire 202 including a control subsystem andlight source, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiments. Theillumination system 200 may be identical or similar to the illuminationsystem 100 (FIG. 1) or may have a physical configuration that differs inform but is similar in function to the illumination system 100illustrated in FIG. 1. The illumination system 200 may employ one ormore light sources 104 (only one illustrated in FIG. 2). In someinstances, the illumination system 200 may include more than oneluminaire 202.

The illumination system 200 includes one or more light sources, forexample strings of series electrically coupled LEDs 208 a-208 n(collectively 208). The light sources 208 may be selectively removableor interchangeable from the luminaire 202. Alternatively, the lightsources 208 may be an integral part of the luminaire 202. Variousexamples of suitable light sources 208 are described above. Theillumination system 200 may optionally include one or more drivers 210a-210 n (collectively 210) for the light sources 208. The ballasts 210may form part of the control subsystem 212 or the luminaire 202.Alternatively, the ballasts 210 may be an integral or unitary part ofthe light sources 208.

The illumination system 200 includes a control subsystem 212 which maybe integral to the luminaire 202. The control subsystem 212 may beidentical or similar to the control subsystem 106 (FIG. 1). Notably, aphotosensitive transducer to sense the varying levels (e.g., power orintensity) of one or more light conditions in the ambient environmentabout the luminaire 202 is not included, incorporated, or used as aninput to the control subsystem 212. The control subsystem 212 may, forexample, include a microcontroller 214 and one or more non-transitorystorage media 216 communicatively coupled to the microcontroller 214.

The microcontroller 214 may take any of a variety of forms, for examplea microprocessor, programmable gate array (PGA), application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP), etc. Themicrocontroller 214 may require very limited computing power, forexample an 8-bit microcontroller may be sufficient. The microcontroller214 may be communicatively coupled to receive signals directly from thephotosensitive transducer 204.

In some instances, a single microcontroller 214 may be used to control aplurality of wiredly or wirelessly networked luminaires 202. In suchinstances, the luminaires 202 forming the network may be individuallyaddressable or addressed as a group. In such an arrangement, the singlemicrocontroller 214 may transmit various signals exercising control overindividual operation of the luminaires 202 within the group or groupcontrol over operation of all of the luminaires 202 forming the group.

The at least one nontransitory storage media 216 may take any of avariety of forms, for example electrically erasable programmable readonly memories (EEPROMs), flash memories, etc. In at least someinstances, the at least one nontransitory storage media 216 may whollyor partially comprise removable storage media such as secure digital(SD) or compact flash (CF) cards, universal serial bus (USB) memorysticks, or similar. The at least one nontransitory storage media 216 mayhave sufficient capacity to store or otherwise retain one or more setsof machine executable instructions, year-long daily sunrise and sunsettimes at a number of latitudes, open storage for acquired dataindicative of one or more solar events including data either internallygenerated by the control subsystem 212 or acquired from one or moreexternal sources such as a network or handheld computing device. In someinstances, the control subsystem 212 may automatically overwrite all ora portion of the data stored within the nontransitory storage media 216,for example every number N of daily cycles.

In at least some instances, the at least one nontransitory storage media216 can store or otherwise retain a number of look-up tables containingastronomical or similar solar event data. Such astronomical or solarevent data may include sunrise and sunset times, dusk and dawn times,solar noon and solar midnight times, and the like at least for the locallatitude at which the luminaire is to operate. Additionally, in at leastsome instances the at least one nontransitory storage media 216 canstore geolocation information specific to the position of the luminaire206 on the surface of the Earth. Such geolocation data can include atleast the latitude or other similar positioning information orcoordinates that identifies the location of the luminaire 202 withrespect to a pole or the equator or any similar fixed geographicreference point on the surface of the Earth. In some implementations thegeolocation data may include the longitude in addition to the latitude.Longitude data may be useful, for example in determining a time zone(e.g., a time zone location referenced to a reference time or time zonesuch as coordinated universal time, UTC) in which the luminaire 202 isoperating or programmed to operate. In some instances, dates and timescorresponding to the conversion from daylight savings time to standardtime (and vice-versa) may be stored within the nontransitory storagemedia 216 to permit the scheduled operation of the luminaire 202 toreflect such legislative time changes. Such geolocation, reference time,time zone, and daylight savings time data may be communicated to andstored in the nontransitory storage media 216, for example, using aportable handheld electronic device having global positioningcapabilities and a communications link (wired or wireless, including RF,microwave or optical such as infrared) to the luminaire 212.Alternatively, geolocation, reference time, time zone, or daylightsavings time information may be stored in a read-only portion of the atleast one nontransitory storage media 216, for example when theluminaire 202 is manufactured, installed, commissioned, programmed orserviced.

The control subsystem 212 may include an integrated or discrete realtime clock circuit 220. For example, an integrated real time clockintegrated circuit such as the PCF2129A as manufactured by NXPSemiconductors (Eindhoven, The Netherlands) may be used in someinstances. In at least some instances, the real time clock circuit 220may be persistently powered, for example using one or more batteries,capacitors, ultracapacitors or similar energy storage devices. Othercommercially available semiconductor chips providing real time clockfunctionality may be equally employed. Alternatively, themicrocontroller 214 may implement a real time clock based on timingsignals produced by a controller or processor clock or similaroscillator. The control subsystem 212 may further include a timercircuit 219 (e.g., a digital timing circuit or an analog timer circuit).In at least some instances, the timer circuit 219 may be persistentlypowered, for example using one or more batteries, capacitors,ultracapacitors or similar energy storage devices. The timer circuit 219may produce control signals at defined periods following an occurrenceof defined times as indicated by the real-time clock circuit 220 of thecontrol subsystem 212.

As explained in detail below with reference to FIGS. 3-5, themicrocontroller 214 may determine the time at which one or more ambientlighting conditions corresponding to a well defined astronomical eventsuch as a sunrise or sunset event is scheduled or predicted to occur. Inother instances, the microcontroller 214 may determine the time or timerange at which one or more ambient lighting conditions corresponding toa less well defined astronomical event such as a dusk event or a dawnevent is scheduled or predicted to occur. In some instances, themicrocontroller 214 may employ a lookup table or other data structurecontaining data indicative of the scheduled, predicted or expected timesof occurrence of one or more solar events. In other instances, themicrocontroller 214 may calculate the scheduled, predicted or expectedtimes of occurrence of one or more solar events using one or moreequations, algorithms, relationships or correlations based at least inpart on the latitude at which the luminaire 202 operates or isprogrammed to operate, the current date, the day in the solar cycle(e.g., day 106 of a 365¼ day cycle), or the Julian date. Variousspecific methods for performing such are described below.

The control subsystem 212 may include power supply circuitry 213 thatrectifies, steps down a voltage and otherwise conditions suppliedelectrical power to a form suitable to power the microcontroller 214,nontransitory storage media 216 and/or other components of the controlsubsystem 212, as well as to power the light sources 208. The powersupply circuitry 213 may supply power to the various components of thecontrol subsystem 212. The power supply circuitry 213 may supply powerto recharge the optional standby power source 221 (e.g., battery cells,button cells, capacitors, super- or ultracapacitors, fuel cell), whichsupplies power to the components of the control subsystem 212 whenneeded, for example in the event of loss of power from the grid or otherexternal power source. For example, the standby power source 221 maysupply power to the timer circuit 219 or the real time clock circuit 220in instances where electrical power supplied by an electricaldistribution grid or network is interrupted. The standby power source221 may also provide sufficient power to maintain the current date, dayin the solar cycle, or Julian date and the current time within the realtime clock 220 during the luminaire manufacturing, shipping andinstallation process. In at least some instances, the current time caninclude a local time (i.e. the time in the time zone in which theluminaire is operating or intended to operate) or a universal time suchas coordinated universal time (UTC). In at least some instances, where auniversal time is used, one or more correction factors may be stored inthe nontransitory storage media 216 to convert the universal time to alocal time in which the luminaire is operating or intended to operate.

In some instances, the current time and current date may be the localtime and the local date at the geographic location where the luminaireis installed or is intended for installation. Such local time and localdate information may be stored within the nontransitory storage media216 along with any local time changes (e.g., Daylight Savings timechangeover dates and times), leap years, or other events affecting thelocal time or local date. Such current time/current date or localtime/local date information may be periodically or continuously providedto or updated in the luminaire using one or more external electronicdevices. For example, the current or local time or date may beperiodically updated using an electronic device connected via a wired orwireless network, or a portable electronic device such as a cellulartelephone, portable data assistant, tablet computer, or the like.

In particular, power supply circuitry 213 may include one or morerectifiers 222, DC/DC converters 224, isolation transformers, filters,smoothing capacitors, etc. to rectify, step a voltage and otherwisetransform or condition electrical power from an external source into aform suitable to power the components of the control subsystem 212and/or light sources 208. In some instances, the rectifier 222 cansupply rectified DC voltage to the DC/DC converter 224 which suppliesregulated DC voltage to all or a portion of the control subsystem 212.In other instances an AC/DC converter may be used to step a voltage downto a first level suitable for the control electronics of the controlsubsystem 212. An example AC/DC converter is a “capacitor dropping” typeAC/DC converter including a moderately sized capacitor (e.g., 1microfarad capacitor) and a rectifier or bridge rectifier including acapacitor and a half- or full-bridge rectifier.

The control subsystem 212 may employ a number of power controllers,switches, or other systems or devices configured to turn the lightsource 208 ON and OFF and/or to adjust the level of light output orluminosity of the light sources 208. In some situations, the powercontrollers may employ various switches, for example contact switches,relays, solid state switches, transistors, triacs or the like to controlthe flow of current or power to the light sources 214. In othersituations, the number of power controllers may include one or moreswitched devices or systems, such as a switched mode power supply 213 orpower converter, the output of which is controlled or adjusted based onat least one characteristic of the output signal provided by themicrocontroller 214. In some instances, the light sources 208 caninclude one or more solid state light sources and the microcontroller214 can provide one or more pulse wave modulated (PWM) output signals tothe power supply 213, all or a portion of the number of powercontrollers, or both. In at least some instances, the luminosity of thesolid state light sources 208 may be adjusted by controlling the dutycycle of the solid state light sources 208. For example, the overallduty cycle (and consequent luminous output) of the solid state lightsources 208 may be adjusted by the control subsystem 212 by increasingor decreasing at least one of a PWM signal pulse width or a PWM signalfrequency of the output signal provided to the power supply 213, a powerconverter supplying all or a portion of the power to the light sources208, or all or a portion of the number of power controllers.

The rectifier 222 may also supply rectified DC voltage directly to oneor more drivers 210 a-n. In at least some instances, the drivers 210 a-ncan convert the input voltage to a constant current having parametersmatched to the type of LEDs used in the LED strings 208 a-n. A DC/DCconverter 224, for example one or more DC/DC buck converters, may beused to power all or a portion of the drivers 210 powering the lightsources 208. In addition, in some instances, the microcontroller 214 canprovide a control input to at least a portion of the drivers 210 a-n.Such driver control inputs can enable a power ON or a power OFF to theLED strings 208 a-n, provide a dimming input to the LED strings 208 a-n,or combinations thereof. For example, the control input provided by themicrocontroller 214 to the drivers 210 a-n may be a pulse widthmodulation (PWM) signal to cause the drivers 210 a-n to apply theconstant current for a first period of time and not apply the constantcurrent for a second period of time. In at least some instances, aplurality of LED strings 208 a-n may be driven by a single driver 210.

In at least one embodiment, an AC/DC switched-mode power converterhaving digital input capabilities may be used to provide all or aportion of the power to the light sources 208. In such instances, thecontrol signal provided by the microcontroller 214 may be used toselectively control the operation of the AC/DC switched mode converter.For example, an IRS2548D SMPS/LED Driver PFC+Half-Bridge Control IC asmanufactured by International Rectifier Corp. (Los Angeles, Calif.) maybe used to control the flow of power to the light sources 208 using theoutput signal from the microcontroller 214. In such instances, thepresence of a low output signal (e.g., a digital “0” signal) from themicrocontroller 214 may permit the flow of current to the light sources208 while the presence of a high output signal (e.g., a digital “1”signal) from the microcontroller 214 may inhibit the flow of current tothe light sources 208.

As used herein and in the claims, adjusting an illumination levelincludes turning ON a light source from an OFF state in which no lightor illumination is produced to an ON state at which at least some lightor illumination is produced. As used herein and in the claims, adjustingan illumination level includes turning OFF a light source from an ONstate in which at least some light or illumination is produced to an OFFstate at which no light or illumination is produced.

As used herein and in the claims, adjusting an illumination level alsoincludes increasing and/or decreasing a level of light or illuminationproduced. Such may include adjusting an output level for any givendiscrete light source. Such may additionally or alternatively includeadjusting a total number of light sources that are in the ON state. Forexample, a first and second set or strings of light sources may be usedto produce a first level of light or illumination, while only the firstset or string of light sources may be used to produce a second level oflight or illumination. Also for example, a first number of light sourcesin a first set or string may be used to produce the first level of lightor illumination, while a smaller number or subset of light sources inthe first set or string may be used to produce the second level of lightor illumination.

One or more wired or wireless communications interfaces 230 may bedisposed within the control subsystem 212. Such communicationsinterfaces 230 may include, but are not limited to one or more optical(e.g., infrared), wired (e.g., IEEE 802.3, Ethernet, etc.) or wireless(e.g., IEEE 802.11—WiFi®; cellular—GSM, GPRS, CDMA, EV-DO, EDGE, 3G, 4G;Bluetooth®; ZigBee®; Near Field Communications; etc.) communicationinterfaces. The one or more communication interfaces 230 may becommunicably coupled to the microcontroller 214 or the at least onenontransitory storage media 216 and can be useful in bidirectionallyexchanging data between the control subsystem 212 and one or moreexternal devices. In some instances, the one or more communicationinterfaces 230 may provide the control subsystem 212 in a firstluminaire 202 with the ability to unidirectionally or bidirectionallycommunicate with the control subsystem 212 in a number of otherluminaires 202.

The one or more wired or wireless communications interfaces 230facilitate the transfer of data indicative of a current time, auniversal time (e.g., Coordinated Universal Time, UTC), a current date,a current day of the solar cycle (e.g., day 213 of a 365¼ solar cycle),a Julian date, or combinations thereof. The one or more wired orwireless communications interfaces 230 may facilitate the transfer ofdata indicative of one or more sets of machine executable instructionsused by the microcontroller 214. The one or more wired or wirelesscommunications interfaces 230 may facilitate the transfer of dataindicative of one or more sets of operational code such as firmwareuseful in supporting the operation of the control subsystem 212.

The operation of the luminaire 202 is controlled using at least one timebased schedule, formula, calculation, or equation that is indicative ofat least one scheduled, predicted, or expected aspect of one or moresolar events. Time based schedules may include looked-up data, forexample data indicative of a sunrise or sunset event that is looked-upbased on one or more signals received from the timer circuit 219 or realtime clock circuit 220. Time based schedules may include calculateddata, for example data indicative of a sunrise or sunset event that iscalculated based on the latitude of operation of the luminaire 202 andone or more signals received from the timer circuit 219 or real timeclock circuit 220. In either event, the control subsystem 212 may beused to control the operation of the luminaire 202 based at least inpart on current date, day in the solar cycle, Julian date, time, orlatitude data stored in the nontransitory storage media 216. Such datamay be stored in the nontransitory storage media 216 at the time ofinstallation or commissioning of the luminaire 202. The microcontroller214 can use the stored date, day in the solar cycle or Julian date,time, or latitude data along with a time-keeping circuit such as thetimer circuit 219 or the real time clock circuit 220 to either calculate(e.g. using the sunrise equation) or look-up (e.g. using one or morelatitude indexed lookup tables stored in the nontransitory storage media216) the scheduled, predicted or expected times for various solar eventsfor the location of the luminaire 202.

FIG. 3 shows a high level method 300 of operating an illumination systemto provide illumination employing a scheduled, predicted or expectedtime of a solar event. The scheduled, predicted or expected time may bedetermined, for example, via look-up or via a calculated formula orequation. The high level method 300 may be rendered as one or more setsof machine executable instructions at least partially stored in the atleast one nontransitory storage media 216 and executed by themicrocontroller 214 or implemented in other logic or a hardwiredcircuit.

One or more operational aspects of the luminaire 202, such as theluminous output of the light source 208, may be controlled in whole orpart by comparing a current time or date, day in the solar cycle, orJulian date signal generated using a timer or real time clock with thescheduled, predicted or expected time of occurrence of a solar event.The scheduled, predicted or expected time of occurrence of a solar eventmay, in some instances, be determined by the microcontroller 214 byselecting or looking up data in the nontransitory storage media 216using the date, day in the solar cycle, or Julian date or time signalprovided by the timer circuit 219 or real time clock circuit 220. Thescheduled, predicted or expected time of occurrence of a solar eventmay, in other instances, be determined by the microcontroller 214 bycalculating such based at least in part on latitude data and the date,day in the solar cycle, or Julian date or time signal provided by thetimer circuit 219 or real time clock circuit 220. In either event, thecontrol subsystem 212 may be used to control the operation of theluminaire 202 based at least in part on current date, day in the solarcycle, or Julian date, time, and/or latitude data which may be stored inthe nontransitory storage media 216. The method commences at 302.

At 304, at least one aspect of a solar event is determined withoutreference to any photometric data. Such aspects may include thescheduled, predicted or expected time of occurrence of a solar eventsuch as a sunrise, a sunset, a solar noon, or a solar midnight. Suchaspects may also include an estimation or heuristic determination of anexpected change or an expected rate of change in one or more physical,optical, or electromagnetic conditions associated with the occurrence ofa solar event. For example, such aspects may include an estimate orapproximation of the expected rate of decrease in ambient light levelduring an expected sunset event or an estimate of the expected rate ofincrease in ambient light level during an expected sunrise event.

Such aspects may also or alternatively include determination of timesprecedent or subsequent to one or more expected solar events. Forexample, such aspects may include one or more calculated values usefulin adjusting the luminous output of the light sources 208 at a timeprecedent or subsequent to the expected or scheduled time of occurrenceof a solar event. For example, reducing the luminous output of the lightsources 208 from 100% to 50% a defined period (e.g., six hours) afterthe scheduled, predicted or expected time of occurrence of a sunsetevent and increasing the luminous output of the light sources 208 from50% to 100% a defined period (e.g., four hours) prior to the scheduled,predicted or expected time of occurrence of a sunrise event.

In at least some instances, such aspects may be determined using dataindicative of the current time and/or date, day in the solar cycle, orJulian date as determined by the timer circuit 219 or the real timeclock circuit 220. In at least some instances, the timer circuit 219 orthe real time clock circuit 220 may include one or more persistentlypowered circuits to maintain an accurate system time in the event powerto the luminaire 202 is interrupted. In at least some instances, thetimer circuit 219 or the real time clock circuit 220 may be adjusted,set, or otherwise synchronized to the current time and date in which theluminaire 202 will operate during manufacture, installation,commissioning, programming or servicing. In some instances the dataindicative of the current time or date may be provided to themicrocontroller 214 from an external network, system, or device usingthe communications interface 230. In some instances, data indicative ofa current or reference time (e.g., Greenwich mean time, NationalInstitute of Standards atomic clock time, or the like) and/or date, dayof the solar cycle, or Julian date may be provided to the controlsubsystem via one or more signals transmitted across the power grid towhich the luminaire 202 is coupled. Advantageously, the use of apersistently powered timer circuit 219 or real time clock circuit 220provides the microcontroller 214 with access to data indicative of thetime and/or date, day of the solar cycle, or Julian date withoutrequiring resetting the date and time after every interruption in powerto the luminaire 202. Providing the time and/or date, day of the solarcycle, or Julian date to the microcontroller 214 permits thesynchronization of luminous output from light source 208 with thescheduled, predicted or expected times of occurrence of one or moresolar events.

At 306, the microcontroller 214 can generate at least one output signalhaving at least one characteristic indicative of the at least one aspectof the scheduled, predicted or expected solar event. In one example, ifthe at least one aspect of the solar event is a scheduled, predicted orexpected time of occurrence of the solar event (e.g., a sunset eventoccurring at 7:34 P.M.) the microcontroller 214 can generate an outputsignal having at least one characteristic representative of the at leastone aspect of the solar event (e.g., voltage of the output signaldecreases from 5 D.C. volts (“VDC”) to 0 VDC at 7:34 P.M. causing thelight source 208 to illuminate).

In another example, the at least one aspect of the solar event may be anestimated or heuristically determined rate of decrease in ambientillumination associated with the solar event. Such may take the form ofa heuristic relationship, for example a sunset event occurring at 7:34P.M. causing a decrease in ambient light starting at 7:34 P.M., lastingapproximately 25 minutes and ending at 7:59 P.M. Using the heuristicrelationship, the microcontroller 214 may generate a “scheduledbrightening” output signal having at least one characteristic (e.g., PWMsignal pulse width) that is adjusted based on the at least one aspect ofthe solar event (e.g., rate of decrease in ambient light level)resulting in, for example an increase in a duty cycle of a PWM signal ata fixed rate (e.g., 4% per minute) starting at a 0% duty cycle at 7:34P.M. and ending at a 100% duty cycle at 7:59 P.M.

In another example, the determined, calculated, or expected time of asolar sunrise event may be 6:43 A.M. The microcontroller 214 maygenerate a “scheduled dimming” output signal having at least onecharacteristic (e.g., PWM signal pulse width) that is adjusted based onthe at least one aspect of the solar event (e.g., rate of increase inambient light level). Such may result, for example in a PWM signal at100% duty cycle decreasing at a fixed rate (e.g., 4% per minute)starting at 6:18 A.M. and ending twenty five minutes later at 6:43 A.M.with the PWM signal duty cycle at 0%. Other relationships between one ormore output signal characteristics and the at least one aspect of thescheduled, predicted or expected solar event may be similarly defined.

At 308, the output signal is provided by the microcontroller 214directly or indirectly to, for example all or a portion of the number ofpower controllers 226. In some instances, the output signal provided bythe microcontroller 214 can cause the selective operation of one or moresystems or devices controlling or otherwise limiting or adjusting theflow of power to the light sources 208. For example, in one instance,the output signal may be provided to the power supply 213 to control thepower output provided to the light sources 208. In another example, theoutput signal may be provided to all or a portion of the number of powercontrollers 226 to interrupt, adjust, control or limit the flow of powerto the light sources 208. For example, increasing the voltage of theoutput signal may cause all or a portion of the number of powercontrollers 226 to close, thereby permitting power to flow from a powergrid to the light sources 208. In some instances, one or morecharacteristics of the output signal may be used to limit, alter,adjust, or otherwise control the quantity of power that flows from apower grid to the light sources 208. In other embodiments, all or aportion of the output signal itself may be used power at least a portionof the light sources 208. The method 300 concludes at 310. In someimplementations, the method 300 will either continuously or periodicallyrepeat, either with or without terminating.

FIG. 4 shows a low level method 400 of determining a scheduled,predicted or expected time of occurrence for one or more solar events,such as a sunrise, a sunset, a solar noon, a solar midnight, and thelike using a lookup table. The lookup table may contain data indicativeof the scheduled, predicted or expected time of occurrence of one ormore solar events at the latitude at which the luminaire 202 operates,is programmed or is expected to operate. The lookup table may or may notinclude similar data for other geographic locations (e.g., otherlatitudes, cities, countries, or similar geographic locations). The atleast one nontransitory storage media 216 may include stored data thatis directly or indirectly indicative of at least a local latitude atwhich the luminaire 202 will operate. The data indicative of a latitudeis preferably stored in a nonvolatile memory from which it can be readand possibly updated. The nonvolatile memory may for instance take theform of read only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable readonly memory (EEPROM), flash or other nonvolatile memory device. In someinstances a portion of the nonvolatile memory can take the form ofremovable storage media, such as secure digital (SD) or compact flash(CF) media. Such data may include data indicative of the actual orexpected latitude of operation of the luminaire 202. The stored data mayalso include data indicative of the expected times of occurrence of oneor more scheduled, predicted or expected solar events which indirectlyprovides data indicative of an actual or expected latitude of operationof the luminaire 202. Such data may be stored within the nontransitorystorage media 216 during the manufacturing process, prior to sale, orduring installation, commissioning, programming, or maintenance of theluminaire 202.

Data indicative of the latitude at which the luminaire 202 will operatemay be manually stored in the nontransitory storage media 216 forexample at the sale of or during installation or commissioning of theluminaire 202. Such data may be autonomously or semi-autonomously storedin the nontransitory storage media 216 using one or more external datasources. In one example, data indicative of the local latitude at whichthe luminaire 202 operates may be acquired or otherwise obtained from aglobal positioning system (GPS) enabled electronic device communicablycoupled to the luminaire 202 via the communication interface 230. Inanother example, data indicative of the local latitude at which theluminaire 202 operates may be acquired or otherwise obtained from anetwork of devices communicably coupled to the luminaire 202 via thewired or wireless communication interface 230. Such data may also beperiodically updated, using similar manual, semi-automatic or automaticmethods. Such methods may be useful in determining the at least oneaspect of the solar event at 304. The method 400 commences at 402.

At 404, the microcontroller 214 selects data indicative of at least oneaspect of a solar event from one or more lookup tables stored in thenontransitory storage media 216. In some instances, the one or morelookup tables may include one or more lookup tables populated with dataspecific to the latitude at which the luminaire 202 operates. In otherinstances, the one or more lookup tables may include data specific to anumber of latitudes and the microcontroller 214 can select data from alookup table having the actual or the geographically closest latitude tothe actual latitude of operation of the luminaire 202.

The data included in the lookup table and selected by themicrocontroller 214 may include at least the expected time of occurrenceof the scheduled, predicted or expected solar event. The data in thelookup table selected by the microcontroller 214 may also includeadditional data related to the scheduled, predicted or expected solarevent. For example, the data included in the lookup table may includeone or more historical values indicative of the overall level of ambientlight at the scheduled, predicted or expected time of occurrence of thescheduled solar event. In another example, the data in the lookup tablemay include historical values indicative of the rate of change of theambient light at the scheduled, predicted or expected time of occurrenceof the scheduled solar event. Such data may be advantageously used bythe microcontroller 214 to alter, adjust, limit, or control theluminosity of the light sources at 308 responsive to the scheduled,predicted or expected time of occurrence of the solar event. Such datamay be advantageously used by the microcontroller 214 to sequentiallystage the brightening or dimming of the light sources 208 in conjunctionwith the historical loss or gain of ambient light during the solarevent. The method 400 concludes at 406.

FIG. 5 shows a low level method 500 of determining scheduled, predictedor expected times for solar events such as sunrise, sunset, solar noon,solar midnight and the like based on a calculated value indicative ofthe scheduled, predicted or expected time of occurrence of one or moresolar events at the latitude at which the luminaire 202 operates or isprogrammed to operate. The at least one nontransitory storage media 216includes stored data that is directly or indirectly indicative of atleast a local latitude at which the luminaire 202 operates or isprogrammed to operate. Such data may be stored within the nontransitorystorage media 216 during the manufacturing process, prior to or at sale,during installation, commissioning, programming, or maintenance of theluminaire 202.

Data indicative of the current time or date, day in the solar cycle orJulian date at which the luminaire 202 operates is provided to themicrocontroller 214. Such data indicative of the current time or currentdate, day in the solar cycle, or Julian date may be provided by one ormore timer circuits 219 or one or more real time clock circuits 220.Upon receipt of the data indicative of the current time or current dateor day, and using the data indicative of the latitude at which theluminaire 202 operates, the microcontroller 214 calculates one or morescheduled, predicted or expected times of occurrence of one or moresolar events.

In some instances, the data indicative of the current time or currentdate, day of the solar cycle or Julian date may be provided via one ormore timers or time keeping circuits, systems or devices external to thecontrol subsystem 204. For example, data indicative of the current timeand date, day in the solar cycle, or Julian date may be provided to themicrocontroller 214 from an external system, device, or networkcommunicably wiredly or wirelessly coupled to the luminaire 202 via thecommunications interface 230. A current or universal time may beprovided to the luminaire 202, for example by a radio frequency (RF)clock signal (e.g., 60 kHz NIST Time Signal), an Internet clock signal(e.g., from the NIST or U.S. Naval Observatory websites), a cellularcarrier signal, a GPS clock or positioning signal, a terrestrial wiredsignal such as a timing signal carried on the power grid, or similar.The receipt of such time, date, day of the solar cycle, or Julian datesignals may be communicated to the luminaire 202 via the wired orwireless communications interface 230, or via a dedicated wired orwireless receiver or transceiver communicably coupled to the controlsubsystem 212. The method 500 commences at 502.

At 504, the microcontroller 214 calculates a scheduled, predicted orexpected time of occurrence of a solar event. Such calculations may, forexample, make use of the sunrise equation or similar astronomicalrelationships that enable the calculation or determination of ascheduled, predicted or expected time of occurrence of a solar eventbased on the latitude and current time or date, day in the solar cycleor Julian date where the luminaire 202 operates or is programmed tooperate. Such may permit the microcontroller 214 to increase theluminous output of the luminaire 202 at a current time coinciding with ascheduled, predicted or expected time of occurrence of a scheduled solarevent (e.g., a sunset or dusk event). Such may also permit themicrocontroller 214 to decrease the luminous output of the luminaire 202at a current time coinciding with the scheduled, predicted or expectedtime of occurrence of a scheduled solar event (e.g., a sunrise or dawnevent).

In some instances, one or more calculations or heuristic relationshipsmay be used to determine an expected ambient light level at thescheduled, predicted or expected time of occurrence of a solar event. Inanother instance, one or more calculations or heuristic relationshipsmay be used to determine the expected rate of change of the ambientlight level at the scheduled, predicted or expected time of occurrenceof the solar event. Such data may be advantageously used by themicrocontroller 214 to alter, adjust, limit, or control the luminosityof the light sources at 308 responsive to the scheduled, predicted orexpected time of occurrence of the solar event. Such data may beadvantageously used by the microcontroller 214 to sequentially stage thebrightening or dimming of the light sources 208 in conjunction with thehistorically observed loss or gain of ambient light associated with thesolar event. The method 500 concludes at 506.

The above description of illustrated embodiments, including what isdescribed in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limitthe embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. Although specificembodiments and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes,various equivalent modifications can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the disclosure, as will be recognized by thoseskilled in the relevant art. The teachings provided herein of thevarious embodiments can be applied to other contexts, not necessarilythe exemplary context of controlling operations of an illuminationsystem generally described above.

For example, while the illumination systems are generally describedabove as embodied in a luminaire, the control subsystem may controlmultiple luminaires. As used herein and in the claims, “luminaire” isused in its broadest sense to refer to any lighting fixture orstructure. While a single step adjustment downward and upward in thelevel of illumination has been described and illustrated, illuminationlevel may be adjusted in multiple steps, or even continuously togradually ramp downward some time after turning ON the light source,then eventually back upward some time before turning OFF the lightsource. Additionally, or alternatively, the embodiments described hereinmay be combined with motion or proximity detecting, either asimplemented by a luminaire control mechanism or by a retrofit orintegral control subsystem.

The microcontroller 214 may be programmable and may include one or moreinput ports (not illustrated) through which a user can program themicrocontroller 214. Such input ports may be wired or wireless ports.Example wired ports include universal serial bus (USB), IEEE 1394(FireWire®), or proprietary bus connectors. In some instances, suchinput ports may include an interface communicably coupled to the powergrid such that one or more signals may be driven across the power grid.For example, the time delays and the various illumination levels of theat least one solid-state light source 308 may be programmed. The inputport may include switches and/or potentiometers that can be used to set,alter, adjust, or program the microcontroller 214. Alternatively, theinput port may include an electrical interface for the user to remotelyprogram the microcontroller 314 whether through a wire or wirelessly. Inone embodiment, the input port may be the ambient light sensor which isconnected to the microcontroller 214. In one embodiment, themicrocontroller 214 is programmable optically via one or more imagescaptured by an image capture device or imager (not illustrated). In oneembodiment, printed barcode pages are used to set delay times and otherparameters used by the microcontroller 214. The microcontroller 214 mayalso receive a one-bit input via the input port to activate ordeactivate the light source. For example, a binary bit of “0” turns OFFthe light source 104 and a binary bit of “1” turns ON the light source.

Also for example, the various methods may include additional acts, omitsome acts, and may perform the acts in a different order than set out inthe various flow diagrams. The use of ordinals such as first, second andthird, do not necessarily imply a ranked sense of order, but rather mayonly distinguish between multiple instances of an act or structure.

Also for example, the foregoing detailed description has set forthvarious embodiments of the devices and/or processes via the use of blockdiagrams, schematics, and examples. Insofar as such block diagrams,schematics, and examples contain one or more functions and/oroperations, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that eachfunction and/or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, orexamples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a widerange of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combinationthereof. In one embodiment, the present subject matter may beimplemented via one or more microcontrollers. However, those skilled inthe art will recognize that the embodiments disclosed herein, in wholeor in part, can be equivalently implemented in standard integratedcircuits (e.g., Application Specific Integrated Circuits or ASICs), asone or more computer programs executed by one or more computers (e.g.,as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as oneor more programs executed by one or more controllers (e.g.,microcontrollers), as one or more programs executed by one or moreprocessors (e.g., microprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually anycombination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and/or writing thecode for the software and/or firmware would be well within the skill ofone of ordinary skill in the art in light of the teachings of thisdisclosure. For example, the control subsystem may include an analogelectronic delay circuit such as a capacitor based timer circuit withdefined delay times, to implement one or more of the specific adjustmenttimes (e.g., times as indicated by the clock when light sources will beturned ON, decreased output, increased output, turned OFF).

When logic is implemented as software and stored in memory, logic orinformation can be stored on any computer-readable medium for use by orin connection with any processor-related system or method. In thecontext of this disclosure, a memory is a computer-readable storagemedium that is an electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physicaldevice or means that non-transitorily contains or stores a computerand/or processor program. Logic and/or information can be embodied inany computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as acomputer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system thatcan fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system,apparatus, or device and execute the instructions associated with logicand/or information.

In the context of this specification, a “computer-readable medium” canbe any element that can store the program associated with logic and/orinformation for use by or in connection with the instruction executionsystem, apparatus, and/or device. The computer-readable medium can be,for example, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus or device.More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablemedium would include the following: a portable computer diskette(magnetic, compact flash card, secure digital, or the like), a randomaccess memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM, EEPROM, or Flash memory), a portable compactdisc read-only memory (CDROM), and digital tape.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to providefurther embodiments. To the extent that they are not inconsistent withthe specific teachings and definitions herein, all of the U.S. patents,U.S. patent application publications, U.S. patent applications, foreignpatents, foreign patent applications and non-patent publicationsreferred to in this specification and/or listed in the Application DataSheet, including but not limited to U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/558,191, filed Jul. 25, 2012; U.S. Pat. No. 8,118,456; U.S. PatentPublication No. US 2009/0284155, published Nov. 19, 2009; U.S. PatentPublication No. US 2010/0090577, published Apr. 15, 2010; U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/052,924, filed May 13, 2008; U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/088,651, filed Aug. 13, 2008; U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/154,619, filed Feb. 23, 2009; U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/180,017, filed May 20, 2009; U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/229,435, filed Jul. 29, 2009; U.S.Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 12/619,535, filed Nov. 16,2009; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/295,519 filed Jan. 15,2010; U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 12/769,956, filedApr. 29, 2010; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/333,983,filed May 12, 2010; U.S. Nonprovisional patent application Ser. No.12/784,091, filed May 20, 2010; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.No. 61/346,263, filed May 19, 2010; and U.S. Nonprovisional patentapplication Ser. No. 13/604,327, filed Sep. 5, 2012, are incorporatedherein by reference, in their entirety. Aspects of the embodiments canbe modified, if necessary, to employ systems, circuits and concepts ofthe various patents, applications and publications to provide yetfurther embodiments.

These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of theabove-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, theterms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specificembodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should beconstrued to include all possible embodiments along with the full scopeof equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, theclaims are not limited by the disclosure.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A luminaire, comprising: at least one light source;at least one luminaire processor operatively coupled to the at least onelight source; at least one luminaire transceiver operatively coupled tothe at least one luminaire processor and to at least one datacommunications channel; and at least one luminaire nontransitoryprocessor-readable storage medium operatively coupled to the at leastone luminaire processor and which stores at least one of data orinstructions which, when executed by the at least one luminaireprocessor, cause the at least one luminaire processor to: receive, viathe at least one luminaire transceiver, geolocation information from anexternal device over the at least one data communications channel, thegeolocation information indicative of a geographical location of theexternal device when the external device is positioned proximate theluminaire; and store the received geolocation information in the atleast one nontransitory processor-readable storage medium as luminairegeolocation information for the luminaire, the luminaire geolocationinformation indicative of a position of the luminaire on a surface ofthe Earth.
 22. The luminaire of claim 21 wherein the luminaireprocessor: receives geolocation information from an external device, thegeolocation information includes at least latitude data.
 23. Theluminaire of claim 21 wherein the luminaire processor: receivesgeolocation information from an external device, the geolocationinformation includes at least longitude data.
 24. The luminaire of claim21 wherein the luminaire processor: receives, via the at least oneluminaire transceiver, at least one of reference time data, time zonedata, or daylight savings time data from an external device over the atleast one data communications channel; and stores the received at leastone of reference time data, time zone data, or daylight savings timedata in the at least one nontransitory processor-readable storagemedium.
 25. The luminaire of claim 21 wherein the luminaire processor:determines at least one solar event time utilizing the receivedgeolocation information.
 26. The luminaire of claim 21 wherein theluminaire processor: receives, via the at least one luminairetransceiver, geolocation information from an external device, theexternal device including at least one of a cellular telephone, aportable data assistant, or a tablet computer.
 27. The luminaire ofclaim 21 wherein the luminaire processor: receives, via the at least oneluminaire transceiver, geolocation information from an external deviceover the at least one data communications channel, the at least one datacommunications channel comprises a wireless data communications channel.28. The luminaire of claim 21 wherein the luminaire processor: receives,via the at least one luminaire transceiver, geolocation information froman external device over the at least one data communications channel,the at least one data communications channel comprises a WiFi®,Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, or Near Field Communications (NFC) channel.
 29. Theluminaire of claim 21 wherein the luminaire processor: controls theoperation of the at least one light source based at least in part on thereceived geolocation information.
 30. The luminaire of claim 21 whereinthe luminaire processor: receives, via the at least one luminairetransceiver, geolocation information from an external device over the atleast one data communications channel, the geolocation informationcomprises GPS data provided by a GPS receiver associated with theexternal device.
 31. A method of operation for a luminaire, the methodcomprising: receiving, by at least one luminaire transceiver of theluminaire, geolocation information from an external device over at leastone data communications channel, the geolocation information indicativeof a geographical location of the external device when the externaldevice is positioned proximate the luminaire; and storing, by at leastone luminaire processor of the luminaire, the received geolocationinformation in at least one nontransitory processor-readable storagemedium of the luminaire as luminaire geolocation information for theluminaire, the luminaire geolocation information indicative of aposition of the luminaire on a surface of the Earth.
 32. The method ofclaim 31 wherein receiving geolocation information from an externaldevice over at least one data communications channel comprises receivinggeolocation information from an external device, the geolocationinformation includes at least latitude data.
 33. The method of claim 31wherein receiving geolocation information from an external device overat least one data communications channel comprises receiving geolocationinformation from an external device, the geolocation informationincludes at least longitude data.
 34. The method of claim 31, furthercomprising: receiving, via the at least one luminaire transceiver, atleast one of reference time data, time zone data, or daylight savingstime data from an external device over the at least one datacommunications channel; and storing, by the at least one luminaireprocessor, the received at least one of reference time data, time zonedata, or daylight savings time data in the at least one nontransitoryprocessor-readable storage medium.
 35. The method of claim 31 furthercomprising: determining, by the at least one processor, at least onesolar event time utilizing the received geolocation information.
 36. Themethod of claim 31 wherein receiving geolocation information from anexternal device comprises receiving geolocation information from atleast one of a cellular telephone, a portable data assistant, or atablet computer.
 37. The method of claim 31 wherein receivinggeolocation information from an external device comprises receivinggeolocation information over a wireless data communications channel. 38.The method of claim 31 wherein receiving geolocation information from anexternal device comprises receiving geolocation information over atleast one of a WiFi®, Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, or Near Field Communications(NFC) channel.
 39. The method of claim 31, further comprising:controlling, by the at least one processor, the operation of at leastone light source of the luminaire based at least in part on the receivedgeolocation information.
 40. The method of claim 31 wherein receivinggeolocation information from an external device comprises receiving GPSdata provided by a GPS receiver associated with the external device. 41.A luminaire, comprising: at least one light source; and a controlsubsystem to control a supply of power to the at least one light source,the control subsystem including: at least one nontransitoryprocessor-readable storage medium; at least one communications interfaceto communicate with at least one external device; at least one processorcommunicably coupled to the at least one communications interface andthe at least one nontransitory processor-readable storage medium, the atleast one processor: receives, by at least one communications interface,geolocation information from an external device; determines at least oneaspect of a scheduled solar event based at least in part on the receivedgeolocation information; and generates at least one output signal havingat least one characteristic indicative of the determined at least oneaspect of the scheduled solar event; and at least one power controlleroperatively coupled to the at least one processor, the at least onepower controller selectively controls a supply of power to the at leastone light source responsive to the at least one characteristic of the atleast one output signal.